Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 5, 1990 TAG: 9003052151
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Press
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Long
Gathers, a senior, was pronounced dead at Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital, where he was taken by ambulance after collapsing with 13:34 left in the first half. He died at 6:55 p.m. PST, hospital officials said at a news conference.
He died 1 hour, 41 minutes after collapsing.
Cardiologist Mason Weiss said the cause of death was not yet known, but an autopsy would be performed.
"We tried sedating him for over an hour and we were unable to generate any activity," Weiss said.
"Hank Gathers sustained a syncopal event tonight while playing basketball at LMU. Cardiac resuscitation was performed by the physician in attendance and he was transported to Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital where resuscitation was continued," Weiss said.
"Mr. Gathers had a previous syncopal episode in December of 1989 which had been determined to be caused by a heart arrythmia, which was treated medically, and released to participate in all athletic events. We have no further information concerning his death at this time."
"It's a tremendous loss for our university," said Brian Quinn, Loyola Marymount's athletic director. "He was an outstanding young man and athlete as well as a human being. We're going to miss him. He's done so many good things for all of us and we're all grateful to have been a friend of his."
Quinn said that three physicians were working on Gathers while he was placed in the ambulance that took him to the hospital, which is located less than five miles from Gersten Pavilion, the site of the game.
As a junior last season, Gathers averaged 32.7 points and 13.7 rebounds, joining Xavier McDaniel of Wichita State in 1984-85 as the only NCAA player to lead the nation in both categories.
A 6-foot-7, 210-pound forward from Philadelphia, Gathers was projected as a first-round selection in this year's NBA draft.
On Dec. 9 against Cal-Santa Barbara, Gathers collapsed after missing a free throw in the second half. He underwent tests for several days at a local hospital and returned to the lineup after missing two games.
After that episode, Gathers began taking medication to regulate his heartbeat. Doctors suspected that an accelerated heartbeat might have led to the fainting spell on that occasion.
Gathers convinced the doctors to cut back on his medication, after which he said he felt his body strength improving. He appeared to be back at full strength the first week in February, when he scored 44 points against St. Mary's.
Before Gathers' death was announced, conference commissioner Mike Gilleran said the tournament was being postponed indefinitely. Gilleran said no games would be played today. The tournament championship game was to be shown tonight on ESPN.
Gathers had given the 22nd-ranked Lions a 25-13 lead with a dunk moments before collapsing near midcourt during a stoppage in play with 13:34 left in the first half of the WCC semifinal game.
He appeared to be suffering convulsions for a few seconds while his mother and aunt rushed from the stands before a hushed crowd. Their cries were audible to everyone in the building.
Gathers tried to get to his knees, but slumped again.
"I first noticed that Hank was in trouble just as he went to the floor," Portland coach Larry Steele said after sending his players back to the team's hotel. "It all happened so fast.
"Within two seconds, everybody realized that Hank needed help. Right now, we're not even having a thought about basketball . . . "
"Words are hard right now," Lions coach Paul Westhead said in a statement. "This is the hardest thing I've experienced . . . to be so close to a player and see him fall and for it to be over. I feel a deep hurt for his family. As to the team, we stayed at Gersten Pavilion until we got the word. Then a number of the players came [to the hospital] because they wanted to be as close to him as they could."
Teammates Bo Kimble, Chris Knight and Tony Walker were at the hospital when Gathers' death was announced.
Across the country in Albany, N.Y., Lionel Simmons of LaSalle heard the news of his friend's death while playing against Siena. He and teammate Doug Overton, who played with Gathers at Philadelphia's Dobbins Tech, were visibly shaken by the news.
Gathers' 1,015 points last season ranked him 11th on the all-time single-season list.
Gathers and Kimble, who leads the nation in scoring this season, are the only teammates in Division I history to score at least 40 points in the same game. Both had 40 against Gonzaga on Feb. 18, 1989.
Gathers was a finalist for the John Wooden award as the nation's top player and a finalist for the Kodak Player of the Year award last year.
This year, Gathers was averaging 28.8 points and 11.2 rebounds.
"His work ethic was outstanding," said Rich Yankowitz, Gathers' high school coach at Dobbins Tech. "He always strived to do better; he was never happy with his performance.
"If there can be any good in this, at least he died doing the thing he loved best."
Gathers' death reduced Temple coach John Chaney to tears after his team defeated Duquesne 61-50 in Philadelphia Sunday night, advancing to the semifinal round of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament.
"When everything is said and done, Hank Gathers epitomizes so much what life is all about," Chaney said. "This basketball game meant nothing. To hear that news just devastates me."
by CNB